About Yopparai

Yopparai is an intimate Japanese sake bar and restaurant featuring a wide variety of sake along with traditional foods and snacks that pair well with sake. With high-quality ingredients selected daily by our chefs, Yopparai offers fresh sashimi, seasonal vegetables, and an assortment of fish and meats prepared on our open grill.

With only 30 seats, we aim to bring a personal sake tasting experience to each of our guests. Allow one of our sommeliers to help you select a special sake, served at the ideal temperature, in our house collection of traditional Japanese glassware. Relax in our unique and inviting space, and enjoy the warmth and tradition of Japanese sake and dining.

A small and cozy place with great food and atmosphere. We felt nostalgic about our times in Japan as we enjoyed the authentic Izakaya (Japanese bar) food and decor.Most of the dishes we ordered as well as the sake were great. A little surprise came with the bill... Now, we're not new to dinner bills in Manhattan and paid more in the past so I was expecting high toll to be paid but ~250$ for something you can get for 50$ in Japan is a little too much in my opinion.But, anyway, the place left a great impression and we enjoyed the night a lot!I definitely recommend the place. just be aware of the $$$ factor.

It was our first time there and we selected dishes from several categories on the menu - rice, meat, fish and vegetables. Each dish had freshly prepared ingredients and was tasty. The service was fine as was the sake recommended for the meal.

First challenge was getting in. Ring buzzer but nobody answer for a couple of minutes. Once buzzed in it is small but cozy. Creative design of seats with storage underneath. Food was of high quality but not in quantity. Food was reasonably priced. Only complaint was sake. My god that was expensive. Had a great time.

Some of the best and innovative while still staying authentic, small plates done Japanese style I've ever had the pleasure of having.Go if you like excellent food, presented with art and tradition in mind, with a service staff that is beyond great.

Tags: Creative Cuisine, Good for a Date, Authentic, Quiet Conversation

Yopparai is our neighborhood gem! The food and service are always excellent. It's a short walk from our apartment so it's an easy choice when deciding what to eat for dinner. We had the oden (fish/yam cake, daikon, and tamago), washu beef teppanyaki, assorted sashimi with ikura and uni, Sapporos, and our favorite sake. Everything is so authentic and artfully crafted.

What a nice find. If you want good Japanese food - defined as “not sushi” - this is an excellent choice. Small, and I felt like I was back in Japan. Food is very well done, service perfect, and every one of four dishes ($65 total, no alcohol) was worth every bite. It’s not high-falutin' Japanese nouveau - it’s well-executed, quality Japanese fare. Get reservations; it holds 20 ppl +/-. Note: I photos done with my phone in ambient light, and I don't think they do justice to the awesomeness of the food.

Seriously one of the top five meals of my life. From the narrow entryway and the train-compartment-like door to the narrow aisle with skinny booths under which you can store your outerwear in little cubbies, the ambience is fantastic. We had four different sakes, each of them the best sakes we've ever had. The tuna tartare was the best tuna tartare I've ever had. The ebi cake was flavorful and wonderful. We kept on saying to each other "turns out I've never had miso before...turns out I've never had tuna before." Great service.

I was missing oden since getting back from Japan so I searched for a spot in New York. Yopparai did not disappoint. It's small and dimly lit with great staff and a relaxed atmosphere. The sake list was excellent and the food was delicious. I had some of the oden items and then tried a few tofu and rice dishes as well. The crowd was a mix of couples, business people and solo diners. I was with a friend this time but would definitely come back to grab a bite by myself in the future.

If you are a group larger than 2 people, confirm table or bar seating. Here aren't very many tables, and we were a party of 3 and it's hard to sit all in a line. We got into a little chat w the hostess bc there was an open table but she insisted we sit at the bar. It was packed and wasn't going to be very comfortable so we said we would leave and come back another time. She gave in and sat us at the table. In the end the food made up for the early rough start.

The food has gone down standard significantly -- salty, heavy on sauce, non-fresh ingredient, mistakenly prepared. It was one of the best, and my favorite Japanese place in the city but this time, it's completely disappointed experience.

I'm a huge fan of the izakaya experience and Yopparai might be my favorite NYC izakaya. The food is simple, extremely well-executed and just amazing. The sake selection is diverse and well-presented by the educated staff. The service is excellent -- warm, efficient and courteous but with that rare ability to remain unobtrusive. The decor is tastefully modern and low-key and the ambiance is appropriate for a date or meal with friends and colleagues. Highly recommended!

Dining at Yopparai was quite possibly the coziest dining experience I have ever had. The location is a bit obscure; the only signage leading to the restaurant is on the inner face of the left wall leading up a narrow entry stairway. The largely wooden interior imparts a certain warmth. It is a bit small, but does not feel cramped. All of the seating has built-in storage, precluding the need for guests to create a nest in the corner of their seat after removing all of their coats and bags. The food they serve is emblematic of Japanese comfort food; simple, unpretentious, clean, flavorful, subtle, and just filling enough that one does not get full before having a chance to sample a fair selection of their offerings. Their preparations do offer some additional refinements in comparison to the more typical Japanese hole-in-the-wall, adding a certain sophistication to the experience. Although they brand themselves as a sake bar, my friend and I are not partial to sake. Luckily, they had a couple types of Japanese craft beers available, which were excellent as well. Yopparai is an amazing place to spend an intimate evening with your partner or a couple of close friends.

Tags: Cozy, Special Occasion, Good Vegetarian Options, Bar Seating, Great Beer, Comfort Food, Creative Cuisine, Good for a Date

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